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Fear of falling : the experience of elderly individuals who have previously fallen Convey, Marilynne G.
Abstract
Fear of falling resulting from a previous fall has serious health implications for elderly individuals who live in the community. This fear has been linked to activity restriction, poor physical health, increased dependence, and lifestyle changes. Previous research on fear of falling has described it in relation to other outcomes of a fall and not as a discrete entity. None of the studies included the individual's perspective. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to describe the meaning of the experience of fear of falling from the perspective's of elderly individuals who have previously fallen. The phenomenological method was used to gain an understanding of the subjective experience of the nine elderly community-dwelling individuals who participated in the study. All of the participants had fallen more than once and all had sustained an injury from a fall. In the course of two or three interviews, each participant and the researcher constructed an account of the participant's experience of the fear of falling. Using content analysis the data was conceptualized into themes and concepts reflective of the participants' perspectives. The presentation of this descriptive data was organized into two major themes which represented a process of adjustment: making meaning of the experience of the fear of falling and integrating the meaning of the experience into daily living. The findings revealed that fear of falling threatened the individual's physical and psychological survival. In response a process of adjustment was initiated in which the individual used behavioural and cognitive activities that sought to maintain control and were self-enhancing. The participants' accounts of their fear of falling highlight the importance of determining the client's perspective in order to understand and work with elderly individuals who fall and are afraid of falling again. In light of the research findings implications for nursing practice, nursing education, and nursing research are discussed.
Item Metadata
Title |
Fear of falling : the experience of elderly individuals who have previously fallen
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
1993
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Description |
Fear of falling resulting from a previous fall has serious health implications for elderly individuals who live in the community. This fear has been linked to activity restriction, poor physical health, increased dependence, and lifestyle changes. Previous research on fear of falling has described it in relation to other outcomes of a fall and not as a discrete entity. None of the studies included the individual's perspective. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to describe the meaning of the experience of fear of falling from the perspective's of elderly individuals who have previously fallen. The phenomenological method was used to gain an understanding of the subjective experience of the nine elderly community-dwelling individuals who participated in the study. All of the participants had fallen more than once and all had sustained an injury from a fall. In the course of two or three interviews, each participant and the researcher constructed an account of the participant's experience of the fear of falling. Using content analysis the data was conceptualized into themes and concepts reflective of the participants' perspectives. The presentation of this descriptive data was organized into two major themes which represented a process of adjustment: making meaning of the experience of the fear of falling and integrating the meaning of the experience into daily living. The findings revealed that fear of falling threatened the individual's physical and psychological survival. In response a process of adjustment was initiated in which the individual used behavioural and cognitive activities that sought to maintain control and were self-enhancing. The participants' accounts of their fear of falling highlight the importance of determining the client's perspective in order to understand and work with elderly individuals who fall and are afraid of falling again. In light of the research findings implications for nursing practice, nursing education, and nursing research are discussed.
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Extent |
3896582 bytes
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Genre | |
Type | |
File Format |
application/pdf
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Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2008-08-08
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0086086
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
1993-05
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.